BACKGROUND: Acute mesenteric ischemia (AMI) remains fatal in 50-70% of cases. AMI is recognized as a vascular emergency, requiring rapid and efficient clinical evaluation and treatment. In the present retrospective study, the possible utility of the neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) in the early diagnosis of AMI was explored. The potential use of this ratio to distinguish AMI from non-vascular bowel necrosis (NVBN) was investigated.